Franz Gockel
Franz Gockel (born December 30, 1925 in Niederense (Ense) , † November 22, 2005 in Rhynern ) was a German roofer . As a soldier in the Wehrmacht, he survived D-Day . He dedicated his life to reconciling former opponents of the war.
Life
Gockel, whose father was also called Franz Gockel, was the eldest son of a family of roofers with seven children. At the age of 14 he began his apprenticeship as a roofer in Rhynern and was drafted in 1943. After a stay in a training camp, he was transferred to Normandy . Gockel was a machine gunner of the 726 Infantry Regiment of the 716th Infantry Division on the stretch of beach called Omaha Beach by the Allies when Operation Overlord ( Operation Neptune ) took place. The strongpoint 62 was on the border between sections Easy Red and Fox Green before Colleville-sur-Mer . Together with Gockel, there were two other German soldiers, Hans Warnecke and Heinrich Severloh , who survived the invasion of Normandy and were taken prisoner by the Americans shortly afterwards.
At around 2 p.m. Gockel was shot in the left hand and had to make his way to the company bunker in Colleville. From there he was transferred to the hospital in Balleroy and shortly afterwards came back to Germany.
Quoting from a letter that Gockel wrote to his parents on June 10, 1944:
“Then the killing began. It was shot, what the barrels could only hold. Soon the whole beach was full of Americans. Many uninjured people also remained lying on the sand. But when the water came, they too had to go on. We took them under fire again. [...] We couldn't understand why those in the hail of fire kept coming back despite their heavy losses. [...] The hundredfold superiority has probably been eliminated by each of us. I fired over 400 rounds with my rifle. And that at a convenient distance of 100 to 250 meters. "
Franz Gockel, who initially suppressed his experiences in Normandy, went back to his old profession and completed his training as a master roofer in 1950 . 18 years later he took over his parents' business and expanded it considerably. He received numerous honors, was head master of the roofing guild and was involved in the establishment of the roofing purchasing cooperative.
In order to process his experiences during the invasion, Franz Gockel returned to Normandy in 1958 and turned to the French families he knew, who gave him a warm welcome. In Colleville he was received by the mayor and as a result Gockel became involved in the German-French and German-American reconciliation. He often flew to meetings in the United States at the invitation of American veterans' associations and had lively correspondence with former American GIs who had survived on Omaha Beach. Almost every year on June 6th, he went to the commemorations in Normandy.
Shortly before his death, he reported on his experiences in various ZDF productions . Gockel's health deteriorated in mid-2005 and died on November 22, 2005 at the age of 79 as a result of his diabetes mellitus .
Honors
- Honorary Citizen of Colleville
- Federal Cross of Merit on Ribbon (April 13, 1992)
Fonts
- The Gate to Hell - Omaha Beach June 6, 1944. Hirle, Strasbourg 2004, ISBN 2-914729-24-3 .
Web links
- Literature by and about Franz Gockel in the catalog of the German National Library
- Sabine Fiedler: You just think: that or me , Stern , June 3, 2004
- Maxim Leo: Among Veterans , Berliner Zeitung , June 3, 2004
Individual evidence
- ↑ Information from the Federal President's Office
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Gockel, Franz |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German soldier, D-Day survivor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 30, 1925 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Niederense (Ense) |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 22, 2005 |
| Place of death | Rhynern |